A mountain road in Tajik Autonomous County of Taxkorgan, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

The road, constructed on the Pamir Plateau at an altitude of more than 4,200 meters with a 1,000-meter drop in height, is hailed as the "plateau sky road" by local residents.

TAXKORGAN, Oct. 23, 2019 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region spent billions of yuan on building or improving roads in recent years as the region strives to become a transportation hub on the Silk Road Economic Belt.

More expressways, national or regional highways, and rural roads have been built. And roads in townships and villages have been improved, benefiting local people.

By the end of 2017, the total length of roads in Xinjiang reached 186,000 km, with 4,578 km of expressways. Fourteen cities in the region have been connected with expressways.

A mountain road in Tajik Autonomous County of Taxkorgan, Oct. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

A view of a mountain road in Tajik Autonomous County of Taxkorgan, Oct. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

A mountain road in Tajik Autonomous County of Taxkorgan, Oct. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

A mountain road in Tajik Autonomous County of Taxkorgan, Oct. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)

A mountain road in Tajik Autonomous County of Taxkorgan, Oct. 20, 2019. (Xinhua/Ding Lei)■